July 26, 2017 at 4:40 p.m.
Rhinelander man charged with injuring two in June OWI crash
Rhinelander man charged with injuring two in June OWI crash
Kevin L. Grant appeared Monday morning before Judge Patrick O'Melia and waived his right to a preliminary hearing on the charges. District attorney Michael Schiek told the court an information will be filed mirroring the criminal complaint, with the possible addition of another charge, and defense attorney Gary Cirillii agreed to proceed to arraignment. He then entered not guilty pleas on his client's behalf.
Grant has five previous OWI convictions dating back to 2002 with the most recent coming in May 2013.
According to the criminal complaint in this case, Oneida County sheriff's deputies and a Three Lakes police officer responded to a report of a two-vehicle accident at the intersection of State Highway 45 and Hiles Junction Road at about 11:45 p.m. June 16. When deputies arrived, they found a pickup truck in the ditch and another vehicle at the scene. Two occupants of the other vehicle allegedly suffered minor injuries in the accident.
It was later determined by witness statements that Grant was operating without his headlights on at the time of the accident.
According to the deputy's report, Grant did not suffer any injuries in the crash but was allegedly showing signs of severe intoxication, and allegedly admitted to having had five mixed drinks prior to the crash. The report alleges that Grant could not complete one of the field sobriety tests due to his alleged inability to stand on his own. His preliminary breath test registered a blood alcohol level of .153, well above the .02 someone with five previous OWI convictions is legally allowed to have, the complaint states.
He was transported to Ministry St. Mary's Hospital where he consented to an evidentiary blood draw.
The charges were formally filed on June 19 when Grant made his initial appearance in person before O'Melia. Bail was set at $3,500 cash.
In addition to the two class H felonies, which carry a maximum fine of $10,000 and up to six years in prison on each count, Grant was also issued traffic citations for operating left of the center line, failure to keep vehicle under control and operation without required lamps lighted. Those citations will track along with the criminal case.
Grant will next appear in court for a pretrial conference on Sept. 12.
Jamie Taylor may be reached at [email protected].
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